Ford has reached an agreement with Tesla to provide access to its Tesla Supercharger network for its electric-vehicle customers, resulting in a significant step towards the adoption of a single industry standard for recharging electric vehicles. Following an update in 2022 and the purchase of an adapter, owners of Ford's F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit vehicles will be able to recharge their vehicles using any of Tesla's 12,000 Superchargers throughout North America, while Ford's next-generation electric vehicles, starting from 2025, will have Tesla charging capabilities built in. This partnership makes Ford the first major automaker to adopt Tesla's North American charging standard, which provides its customers with the largest, fastest, and most reliable network of EV chargers. Access to reliable charging is crucial for the wide adoption of EVs, and this move may represent a "step back" for other EV charging companies currently in the market.
According to Kevin Tynan, an analyst with Bloomberg Intelligence, this could allay consumer concerns about availability and reliability in the US and could encourage new customers to opt for Tesla chargers instead of other companies such as ChargePoint Holdings Inc., Blink Charging Co., or EVgo Inc. As a result of the announcement, shares of Blink fell by 2.5%, while EVgo declined by 4.5%, and ChargePoint rose by less than 1%. Tesla's charging network already has a better reputation for reliability than its competitors and ranked highest in a recent J.D. Power survey of EV drivers.
Ford CEO Jim Farley and Tesla CEO Elon Musk characterised the partnership as a positive move for improving EV adoption during a Twitter Spaces session on Thursday. Some of the new customers who would have opted for other charging companies may now consider Tesla chargers instead. According to Gabriel Daoud, Managing Director of equity research with Cowen Inc., this announcement may prompt other automakers to follow suit, which could lead to charging companies retrofitting existing stations with Tesla charging connectors.
The deal does not necessarily mean that other charging companies will exit the market as the EV transition will require a substantial number of public charging stations. This is an opportunity for Ford to provide its customers with charging convenience while providing Tesla with the potential to qualify for more federal funding.
The cost of the charging adapters required to utilise the Superchargers for Ford customers is still not known. However, Ford CEO Farley has recently informed the media that customers can still utilise their previous charging connectors referred to as Combined Charging System connectors.
In November 2021, Tesla announced in a blog post that its charging standard had become the most popular in North America, having a network twice the size of the Combined Charging System. In February of the same year, Tesla indicated its willingness to allow other auto manufacturers to have access to its chargers since the end of 2024.
During their exchange, Farley and Musk praised each other's respective companies, with the former expressing equality, stating he wanted to ensure his company's EVs were fully operational, such as Tesla's vehicles. Farley has stated that his ultimate goal is to surpass Tesla in the EV market but for now, Tesla controls nearly 60% of the US electric vehicle market, whilst Ford was distant second last year.